her to a natural next step – hydroponics. “I actually wanted to teach soil gardening at first, the idea floated in my mind for a couple of years,” she said. “Soil gardening involves getting dirty. Although that’s amazingly therapeutic, I also thought about it being a deterrent for the youth today. They may not have that connection to soil that I do. But I went in the direction of hydroponics because of
The Hydroponic Program, which was picked up as an extended program of the National Society of Black Engineers - Milwaukee Area Profession- als Chapter, promotes and provides immediate access to fresh produce in food insecure zones, soon found a kismet connection in partner Dominican Center. Mitchelle has been familiar with DC since childhood, she walked past it al-
my background in STEM. At my core, I’m an engineer and will always be. There are a lot of mechanics and science used to build these hydroponics units, it’s great exposure to be an en- gineer in a major way that may not be as evident.” While toiling with the idea of hydroponics, she won a unit in the auction at Dominican Center’s Green & Growing, an annual fundraising luncheon. “It was really cool. I had done hydroponics on a much small- er and simpler scale for herbs and things before that but
most every day. “There was a black owned mini grocery on 25th and Locust so I walked past often. My mom was insistent that we walk there to support black busi- nesses in our community,” she said. As an adult, she was re-introduced to DC at a block party supported by the Block by Block initiative. “This is when I was remind- ed of the Dominican Center and all they did. I met the staff who were so warm and welcoming. That turned into attending the monthly meetings, to volunteer-
“I want kids to get that same rush of excitement I got with hydroponics, when they’ve not only created something they can use, but they can eat too! The goal is to encour- age healthy lifestyles and show agricultural and environmental STEM fields as a career interest.” – Mitchelle Lyle
had been gardening in soil for years. Winning the hydroponics unit gave me an opportunity to try something new. As a nerd, I loved making the cor- relations between what I learned to do in soil and what the unit did for me.” Mitchelle said. Using her new hydroponics unit and seeing the possibilities through her engineer eyes, gave the full-time entrepreneur another idea: A hydroponics program for youth in Amani to teach them about agriculture, STEM career paths and guide them on their way to a healthy lifestyle. The statistics stand out to Mitchelle. She said that in the past five years, there have only been about 1,200 agricultural degrees granted to black students and only slightly more to Latino students – that’s only 14% of all races combined. “I want kids to get that same rush of excitement I got with hydroponics, when they’ve not only created something they can use, but they can eat too!” Mitchelle said. “The goal is to encour- age healthy lifestyles and show agricultural and environmental STEM fields as a career interest.”
ing for neighborhood clean ups, to just being involved as much as possible, whether I was asked or not. Really a snowball effect of getting involved with intention.” The Hydroponics Program kicked off this summer with 16 participants. Students learned agricultural education, black agricultural history, the compo- nents and functionality of hydroponics and basic botany. “Students learned the names and contri- butions of African American agricultural pioneers highlighting the black agricultural communities of Wisconsin,” Mitchelle said. “They were exposed to what hydroponics are, what it does to mimic soil gardening and the technology behind the fea- tures. They also learned about plant growth and health with activities such as healthy seed testing, germination and transferring to a hydroponics unit to grow. This will go levels deeper in 2024.”
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